There is a need in the apparel industry to provide a fabric having recoverable stretch in the machine direction. The xe2x80x9cmachine direction,xe2x80x9d as used herein, is the long direction of a roll of fabric corresponding to the direction in which the fabric is conveyed on a machine as it is being produced. Some of the end uses for these recoverable stretch fabrics include waistbands, undergarment components and interlinings. It is generally known to incorporate elastic components into woven and nonwoven fabrics, but such fabrics tend either to have an uneven surface or a heavy basis weight.
Nonwoven fabrics are produced by a variety of processes in which fibers or filaments are bonded together without involving traditional textile processes such as weaving. Many of such fabrics can be elongated in the machine direction, but the elongation has very limited recovery, and the recovery disadvantageously decreases after each successive elongation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a nonwoven fabric having a low basis weight, a uniform surface, and which is capable of substantial recovery back to near original length in the machine direction upon successive elongations. A further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing the fabric of the invention.
The present invention comprises a compacted non-woven fabric with a basis weight of about 1-5 oz/yd.2 (xe2x80x9cosyxe2x80x9d) (about 31.2 gm/m2 to 156.2 gm/m2), having a level of recovery of at least 40% after five cycles of 35% machine direction elongation. The level of recovery is preferably greater than 50% in the machine direction after five cycles of 35% elongation. The fabric of the invention further comprises a substantially uniform surface. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9csubstantially uniform surfacexe2x80x9d refers to a surface that appears ungathered, unbunched, and otherwise substantially flat to the eye or touch.
The present invention further comprises a method for producing the fabric of the invention, generally comprising the steps of providing a non-woven polymer web with basis weight of about 1-5 osy, microcreping the web in the machine direction to a compaction of at least 20%, heat setting the web during or shortly after creping, and cooling.